Gear shift



Patented Mar. 17, 1925,

UNITED vsrii'rlzs PATENT OFFICE..

HAR-RY A. BUBB .AND HUGH O. YOUNG, OF yNIOllB/Ofril; LOUISIANA.

GEAR SHIFT.

To all `11i/wm, it may concern.'

4Be it known that we', Hann.' A. linnn and HUGH O. Yonne, citizens `ot the United States of .iiniericau residing at Monroe, in the parish oi. Ouachita and State ot Louisi ana, have invented certain'new and uset'ul In'iprovements in Gear Shifts, of which the ,following isa specitication.

Our invention relates to improvements in gear shitting levers, andis more particularly directed torthat type adapted :tor use with `the standard `type of sliding' gear transmission usually employed in motor driven vehicles.

l-Ieretotore, in the operation ot this ,type of lever lit frequently happens `that during` the act oil. changing from one rear to another, the gears slash prior to their positive en` sagement and by reason ott-he fact that pressure is being'r exerted `upon the lever by the operator itfollows that the gearsbecome worn and broken to such degree that new ones are necessary.

It is therefore. the `object ot our invention to provide al lever ot the'type referred to which will eliminate any wear upon the gears of the transmission in "the event a clash takes place prior to `their positive engagement. f

turther object ot our invention is to provide a lever which isfresilient to suclra degree that when pressure is applied theretol'iy the operator it will not cause any material wear upon the y, Q'ears in the event the gears clash prior to their engagement.

Still another object of onr invention to provide an attachniienttor `levers ot the usual type that will eliminate any wear upon the gears when in the act of changing` from one to the other. e

Another object of our invention is to pro vide an attachment for levers `of the class referred to which will not only eliminate wear upon the gears ot the transmission during the shitting' action but will serve as a cushion to prevent any shocks that take place during the movement of the lever from being; transmitted to the hand of the operator.

Various other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following description oit the accompanying drawings,

ywhich forms a part ot this disclosure and which illustrates various embodiments ot our invention.

the usual. knob 3. within the rod @through whieh the .curved Application filed April 28, ,1924. Serial No. 709,461.

In the accoi'i'ipanying drawings Figure l is a side elevation ol a transmission grearliox, the same havinpl the usual hand lever to which our invention is applied.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view illustra/ting` our `invention as shown in Figurel. p

Figure 3 is a modified form otlour invenA tion disclosing a bracket element used to `connect the san'ie to the gear lever.

liliglire fl is another modified form disclosing` the mere use of a leaf springpositiloiied between the malin portion ot `the lever and the handle portion, and

Figure is a turther,modified forni showingthe main leverdivided and our invention applied tothe adjacent end portions of the sections. j

Reterringto the accoinj'ianying' drawings in detail, wherein `like reference characters denote corresponding` parts throughout the several views, 'the numeral` ,l indicates the usual transmission gear box of" the type generallyused in motor driven vehicles, the sanieheing provided `with a'hand lever 2 throng-h the 'medium of which the gears are changed at the will ot the operator. It is to the upper end of this lever thatwe apply our improvement, it being` ot course understood that the 'forms disclosed in the drawings being thepreterred embodiments ot our in?l vention.` YIt' desired our invention may be applied at either end ot the liandlever and ,at any of its intermediate points.`

Referring' to'Figures l `and 2, will be noted that the usuallrnob 3, which is screwed upon end. otithelever 2, isremoved and upon the threaded end ofthe lever 2 we have applied a locliwasher 4 which terms a support forthe base ot' a substantially U-shaped member Referring to they drawings it will be noted` that the base of the member 5 is provided with an opening 6 whic i receives therethrough the' endot` the lever 2, thus permitting'the,member 5 to rest upon the washert.' The adjacent end :portions ofthe legs oi the member are connected by a curved rod 7, upon which is freely slidable a rod 8, the lower end portionot which is provided with a suitable socket 9 to receive therein the end portion of the lever 2, while its upper end is threaded to receive thereon The opening provided rod 7 passes, has fitted therein a suitable Wear bushing 10, the end portions of which are flared outward and receive thereagainst the end portions of springs 11 and 12 which are coiled about the rod T and adapted to hold the rod 8 in alignment with the usual lever 2.

By this arrangement it will bc apparent that when the operator grasps the knob 3 to shift the gears of the transmission the rod 8 and the lever 2 will move substantially in alignment, but in the event the gears engage or clash any pressure thatis exerted upon the knob 3 will be taken care of by the spring 11 or 12 and not transmitted into the gear boX, thus eliminating an)Y wear upon the gears. Furthermore any shocks that take place within the gear boX will be absorbed by the springs and not transmitted to the hand of the operator.

It is of course to be understood that the tension of each spring is just sufficient to permit the movement of the lever to shift the gears properly, but in the event a. clash of the gears take place the springs are then caused to function.

In Figure 3 we have illustrated a modified form of our invention wherein. it is desired to bring the operating handle nearer the operator. or in certain types of cars wherein it would be impossible to use the form illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. In this form we have removed the usual knob 3 and applied to the threaded end of the lever 2, an arm 15 which is supported upon a washer 16 and locked thereagainst by a suitable locking nut 17. rlhe free end of the arm 15 is provided with an opening through which a round headed bolt 18 .passes and secures thereto the member 5, as disclosed in Figure 2. In this form the lower end portion of the rod 8 receives therein the head of the bolt 18.

The operation of this form is the same as somewhat different in structure to those previously referred to but wherein the operation and result accomplished is the same. In this form we remove from the lever 2 the usual knob 3 and apply upon its threaded end a washer 20 upon which one end portion of a substantially U-shaped leaf spring 21 rests and being secured thereto by a suitable lock nut 22. The other end of the spring 21 has secured thereto by nuts 23 and 24 a threaded stud 25which receives thereon the knob 3. The spring in this form is likewise of a tensionsuificient to move the knob and lever 2 in unison and eliminate any pressure from being transmitted from the hand of the operator to the gears within the gear box, in the event a clashing of the gears takes place.

In Figure 5 we have illustrated a form somewhat similar to that shown in Figures 1 and 2 but in this form the lever 2 is divided and our invention applied between the sections. In this form we have shown the lever 2 as being composed of two parts 26 and 27, the lower section having a socket 28 to receive therein the rounded end portion of the upper section. Thesection 27 has secured thereto oppositely arranged members 29 the end portions of which are connected by a rod 3() which passes through the upper section 26 and has coiled thereabout springs 31 and 32, the rod 30 .being in the form of a bolt and secured in place by a nut- The upper end of the section 26 will have carried thereby the usual knob 3. The operation of this form is the same as that of Figure 2. A

f From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without depart ing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure my Letters Patent, is

1. An attachment for levers of the class described composed of a bracket secured to said lever, a hand rod carried by said` lbracket and yieldably connected to said lever, and said connection permitting the movement of both lever and rod in unison during the unrestricted period of the former.

2. A lever of the class described having detachably secured thereto a bracket, a rod carried by said bracket and engaging said lever, said rod having a hand operating por tion, and resilient means interposed between said rod and bracket to permit certain movement of one with respect to the other.

3. A lever of the class described having detachably connected thereto a bracket, a rod carriedby said bracket and pivoted upon said lever, and resilient means interposed between said rod and bracket to permit certain movement of saidrod with respect to said lever.

' HARRY A. BUBB. HUGH O. YOUNG.

Witnesses: v IRENE HioKnRsoN, J. B. LAMPKIN. 

